UPS Predicts Record-Breaking National Returns Day

By STS News Desk On Dec 26, 2019

UPS (NYSE: UPS) today announced that it surpassed the one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered mark with near-perfect on-time delivery. Just one year after the first vaccine was delivered by UPS, this milestone was made possible through UPS’s innovative approaches, one-of-a-kind UPS® Premier tracking technologies, industry-leading cold chain solutions, and an expansive, sophisticated, global network providing UPS Healthcare™ services to customers and communities around the world. “UPSers have been essential in the fight against COVID-19, delivering equitable access to critical healthcare services’” said Chief Sales and Solutions Officer and Executive Vice President, UPS Global Healthcare Kate Gutmann. “This milestone would not have been possible without every person in our global network working tirelessly, alongside our partners and customers, to accelerate vaccine distribution and help keep communities as safe as possible.” The global UPS network and dedicated UPS employees not only supported healthcare customers and global organizations, but also joined in public-private partnerships to provide vaccines and cold chain expertise to countries with hard-to-reach populations, ensuring delivery to as many people as possible. To achieve this, UPS Healthcare mapped roughly 500 trade lanes to enable seamless worldwide vaccine shipments and used more than three million pounds of dry ice to help safely move vaccines. “UPS Healthcare has set the global pace for COVID-19 vaccine delivery, supported by the unmatched dedication of UPSers and the company’s global logistics capabilities and expertise,” said UPS Healthcare President Wes Wheeler. “Medicines derived from biologics and delivered via cutting edge cold chain networks represent the future of healthcare, and UPS Healthcare is leading the way.” Unique examples of these global efforts include: Ultra-cold freezer donations and in-kind vaccine deliveries to facilitate equitable distribution to remote and rural areas throughout Africa, South America, Asia, North America, and Europe, made possible by The UPS Foundation. Three Regional 24/7 UPS Healthcare Command Centers, dedicated to predicting and managing the global vaccine movement to ensure on-time delivery, with contingency plans and solutions to mitigate the risks of extreme weather and other obstacles Partnering with Gavi and other organizations to train and manage ultra-cold vaccine movement in COVAX countries, supporting COVID relief and healthcare infrastructure moving forward Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines outside of the U.S. managing 4,500 movements through the UPS network and commercial partners since the first vaccines were made available. These flights, coordinated by UPS Global Freight Forwarding, add capacity to the already extensive UPS Airlines network and provide customers with even greater worldwide reach at a time when equitable vaccine distribution is key to global health. Embedded UPS logistic experts in countries including Indonesia and Malawi to fully and safely manage vaccine distribution logistics UPS support of vaccine doses delivered via autonomous aircraft to clinics in Africa through the partnership between Zipline and Gavi. Real-time visibility into the location of vaccines through UPS® Premier technology, which provides precise visibility into every single vaccine package – down to within 10 feet of its location anywhere in the UPS global network Supported over 130 vaccine clinical trials to date through the UPS Healthcare subsidiary Marken, which is involved in nearly all vaccines and treatments in development today. “Service is in our DNA. We will continue to provide life-saving supplies, vaccines and other therapies with a constant eye on equitable distribution in every country we serve,” said Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laura Lane, who also has responsibility for global social impact and sustainability. Learn more about UPS’s global vaccine distribution and watch the video titled “Faces of One Billion” at About.UPS.com.

UPS expects to process a record 1.9 million returns Jan. 2, 2020, up 26% from the prior year.
This will mark a seventh consecutive record, illustrating how e-commerce continues transforming shopping patterns.
UPS offers convenience and transparency in the returns process, benefitting both consumers and retailers.

UPS predicts a seventh consecutive record-breaking National Returns Day as consumers send back holiday orders ranging from ill-fitting sweaters to duplicate kitchen gadgets. On Jan. 2, consumers are expected to deposit 1.9 million returns packages into the UPS network – a 26% spike from last year’s peak returns day.

This process is a change from years past, when consumers would rush to physical retailers the day after Christmas and stand in long lines to make returns. UPS has helped rewrite that narrative by offering both retailers and consumers tools to make the returns process flexible, transparent and profitable. Now, consumers make purchases with returns in mind, and, according to the UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper study, 73% of online shoppers say the returns experience affects their likelihood to buy from a retailer again.

“For retailers, a seamless returns process is essential to keeping and growing business,” said Kevin Warren, UPS chief marketing officer. “We proudly offer businesses of all sizes – from global players to small and medium-sized merchants – the sophisticated returns services that today’s consumers demand.”

US consumers can take their UPS Returns packages to:

More than 36,000 UPS drop boxes for smaller packages with labels.
UPS delivery drivers, who can directly receive a return package with a label.
More than 4,800 The UPS Store locations, which in addition to UPS Access Point services, can help with full-service packing, shipping and returns needs.
More than 14,000 UPS Access Point locations, including Michaels, Advance Auto, CVS Pharmacy and The UPS Store locations, which accept pre-labeled UPS packages.

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